Welcome to our FAQs

What’s your professional painting background?

Third Generation Painters operated in Ontario for 3 years before relocating to The Okanagan Valley in the winter of 2023 and eventually settling in the SilverStar Foothills just outside of Vernon. Brook, our owner, came from a painting family with decades of experience and a focus on high-end speciality repaints.

To-date, we have completed countless full interior/exterior repaints but have also completed commercial painting projects and new build construction projects.

Why should I hire Third Generation Painters? There are lots of painting companies out there!

Hey, we get it! There are lots of painting companies out there and you probably want to know why you should a specific company over another one.

The short answer here is our quality of work rivals the top companies in the Vernon & the greater North Okanagan, but our pricing rivals the more cost-conscious companies. Our pricing is very competitive as we are looking to grow the business here in Vernon and beyond, but we never let our quality standards slip.

Lastly, Third Generation Painters runs a small local painting crew which ensures we are a hands-on company with top-notch service (yes, even our owner Brook regular cracks out his paint brush) yet we are large enough to complete bigger projects in a timely fashion.

Do you specialize in interior or exterior painting?

Both! Many companies pick one or the other, but we enjoy both. However, we have dedicated painters who are specifically qualified for high-end interior or speciality work. We have also completed many new build construction projects to-date as well.

And don’t forget about our other offerings - from cabinet refinishing to custom stain work. We started off with traditional interior and exterior painting and have since expanded into more speciality offerings as well.

Do you spray or brush & roll?

Again - both! We are not limited to just spraying or brush & roll as we believe it comes down the substrate, desired finish look, and budget. For example, kitchen cabinets always look best sprayed but brush & roll can often be faster & more cost-effective. On the other hand, exterior wood siding or stucco siding can be sprayed in a time & cost-effective manner but the paint itself may not sink in as deep into the wood grains to create a full covering.

Another factor to consider is paint cost. Let’s take an example, such as painting a faded stucco house, which can often be found in areas like SilverStar Foothills. While spraying is faster, it uses almost twice the paint - and if we are using a premium UV & fade resistant paint such as Benjamin Moore Aura, the money lost in using extra paint negates the money saved in labour costs.

What is the process for cabinet refinishing?

We lightly sand, degrease, and prime before applying two top coats.

The cabinet doors are taken off and refinished at our cabinet shop in Vernon, near the Benjamin Moore store.

We then mask-off and spray the cabinet boxes and frames in-place before reinstalling the doors.

Do you spray your kitchen cabinets on-site?

Typically we bring the cabinet doors to our shop in Vernon, right beside our friends at Benjamin Moore store. This shop is fully equipped to spray kitchen cabinets, making the process less intrusive in your house.

That being said, if you have any easily accessible space such as a heated garage, there can often be cost-savings to your kitchen cabinet project if we can spray the doors on-site.

Should I replace my kitchen cabinets, or paint (or refinish) them?

For a fraction of the cost of a new kitchen, we can refinish your cabinets with cabinet-grade coatings applied.

A new kitchen could start at $15-$20k+ and go up from there, but our kitchen cabinets start around the $4,000 mark and go up from there.

What if my kitchen cabinets doors have an outdated shape, or are heavily damaged?

We recommend a hybrid solution! At our spray shop in Vernon, we share the space with a cabinet maker. If you are OK to keep your existing kitchen lay-out, we can refinish the frames in-place while we have new doors made to fit the existing frames.

This option would still be considerably more cost-effective than replacing the entire kitchen.

How do you price your jobs?

When you are ready, feel free to call/text/email for a free no-obligation estimate. A site visit requires the home-owner to be present and takes about 30-60 minutes to complete. We will then follow-up via email with your pricing.

Pricing is on a standard labour wage rate plus materials. Materials are typically purchased at the local Benjamin Moore store with our contractor’s discount of 20-30% off MSRP and these savings are passed through to you.

A flat rate quote is an option as well, depending on your project and your own billing preferences. Just ask and we’ll make a game plan together!

Why don’t you use cheaper paints?

We have completed many projects using paints such from Cloverdale, Home Hardware, and Home Depot.

From our experience however, Benjamin Moore’s products provide a better finished product and are similar in price once the contractor’s discount is factored in.

Our local home store is the Benjamin Moore store in Vernon, North Okanagan Paint and Window Coverings.

A competitor gave me a cheaper price - can you price match it?

There are typically only 3 ways a painting company can reduce price

1) Cheaper paints. All painting companies get the same contractor’s discounts from the local paint store(s). In other words, we all pay the same for the same paint. The only way to then reduce your paint cost is going with a cheaper brand of paint.

2) Cheaper labour. All companies need to pay their staff a living wage to retain qualified painters. Cheaper labour costs typically mean squeezing your employees, and this often shows in your finished product.

3) Less work hrs. All painting companies know roughly how long a job will take. You can always cut corners to get jobs done faster, or you can plan for adequate work hours to ensure a professional service is completed with no corners cut.

What geographical area(s) do you service?

We offer our interior & exterior painting services to the Greater North Okanagan and into the Columbia-Shuswap. The greater Vernon area, including Coldstream, Okanagan Landing, and the SilverStar Foothills will be our primary focus. We will also be servicing Enderby, Armstrong & Lake Country as well as certain projects in Sicamous, Salmon Arm, Canoe and beyond.

And YES, we service SilverStar Resort. I am a life-long skier after all, and I personal reside in the SilverStar Foothills.

What type of painting are you most passionate about?

Our owner, Brook, grew up painting large wooden exteriors of many cottages, chalets and estate homes in Ontario’s cottage country before relocating full-time the Silverstar Foothills. While wooden structures are not as cost effective, or as fire-proof, as many of the stucco homes we see in Okanangan Valley, our roots come from painting these classic wooden homes.

I have heard of new paint bubbling on wood surfaces in the Okanagan. How do you prevent this?

The direct sunlight in the Okanagan can be a problem. Paint will bubble over 35 degrees cesius, especially if it’s a dark colour on an older wood surface. In direct sunlight, surface temperatures can also be an additional 10-15 degrees warmer.

For example, if a sun-wall gets hit with direct sunlight at 11AM and it’s already 30 degrees outside, the surface temperature itself would be 40-45+ degrees and would bubble.

By working around the sun and being creative with our scheduling, we’ll ensure your finished paint job is free of any and all imperfections.

What is your preferred method for painting stucco? Sprayed or brush & roll?

There are almost as many different ways to paint exterior stucco as there are different styles of stucco exteriors here in the greater Okanagan Valley. If cost is your priority, often one coat spraying with a back roll is best but two coats of traditional brush & roll will often give you a longer lasting, thicker & more durable paint job in the long-run.

Can you prevent stucco from fading?

Yes! This can be prevented. With the heat & sun in Vernon, and the Okanagan in general, this is always a top concern.

Ensure your local painting contractor uses a UV resistant paint such as Aura exterior from Benjamin Moore. The right paint will ensure your new paint job lasts for years to come.

My stucco is faded - so what?

Ok, so you’ve got faded stucco and it’s simply not a priority to get any exterior painting done this summer.

But hey, we get it. Home maintenance can be expensive, and sometimes some faded paint isn’t really a big deal.

So why does it matter then? Over time, your fading stucco means the stucco is drying out and becoming more porous and permeable. Eventually, if the stucco doesn’t start to crack and crumble, it will simply start to allow water and moisture in first. We can often tell not only by how the stucco looks, but by the fact dry stucco often takes twice the paint that well-painted stucco can take!

This is why we recommend get your exterior stucco painted once you’ve noticed it’s starting to fail, which is when it starts to fade.

What is your experience with exterior wood painting or staining?

We would debate our owner, Brook, has some of the greatest breadth and depth of exterior wood painting and staining experience in the Okanagan. Coming from Ontario’s cottage country, where nearly everything is wood, this is what his family had build their businesses on for decades. Brook will happily talk about all the work involved in maintaining these beautiful wooden structures, and his decades of experience to know what will last and what won’t. We take a lot of pride in bringing that experience to the Greater Vernon area, especially in areas where wood exteriors are still make up a good chunk of the houses in areas such as like Coldstream or Okanagan Landing.

Can I put off my exterior wood repainting (or restaining) another year?

If your exterior wood surfaces are painted and starting to peel, these areas need to be fixed sooner rather than later before more rot sets in, ultimately costing more in prep and resulting in an increasingly damaged substrate once the rot is stopped.

If your exterior wood surfaces have a solid stain instead of paint, then you need to restain when the wood is starting to look dry and knots are starting to show, and/or once the stain is starting to peel.

Remember - regardless of if your house has paint or solid stain on it, when the wood is starting to show, it is also starting to rot! Stop this rot in its tracks. And the longer you put off these maintenance-based painting projects, more rot will set in and the eventual costs will keep going up.

How do you work around the Okanagan heat?

Heat is a concern in Okanagan during the summer, especially on exterior painting projects. City of Vernon by-laws state construction can start at 7:00AM in the morning, and we’ll go until 2:00/3:00PM when it is hottest.

That being said, we aren’t afraid to call heat delays when needed to ensure the project is completed properly and our team is safe working outside in the sun.

Are you busiest in the summer or winter? When is the best time to paint?

We are always busiest in the summer! With both interior AND exterior projects on the go, summer is our busy season.

If you’re interior painting project isn’t time-sensitive however, winter is the best time for interior painting and cabinet refinishing. The reason being we are solely focused on your project at that time, instead of juggling it with our busy exterior season (as all painting companies do). As well, you’ll get our best painters dedicated to your project as only our foreman and myself (Brook, the owner) stay on during the slower winter season.

Why did you choose to settle in Vernon?

A number of reasons! The amazing lifestyle of world-class recreation nearby at both Silverstar ski resort & the beautiful Okanagan Lake, with Shuswap Lake not far either, combined with a great community feel in Vernon and a growing population in the greater North Okanagan.

I personally reside in the SilverStar Foothills, halfway between Silverstar and Vernon, making access to skiing & downhill mountain biking quick and easy!